I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Joe is done with the cities. He’s done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he’s saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe. He gets a job at the local library—he does know a thing or two about books—and that’s where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won’t meddle; he will not obsess. He’ll win her the old-fashioned way: by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they’ll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town. The trouble is, Mary Kay already has a life. She’s a mother. She’s a friend. She’s busy. True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He’s ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kay will do the right thing and make room for him. (This synopsis belongs to GoodReads)
I read You and gave it one star. I read Hidden Bodies and gave it two stars. Now, I'm giving You Love Me two stars, so at least I am consistent. I also refuse to watch the television show. If the books were this bad, then I can imagine the show might be the same or worse. I just cannot understand why people like this series. I can’t understand why Joe picks such annoying, potentially bipolar women to obsess over. I do understand that this is from Joe’s point of view, and that the women probably aren’t as bad as he says. But I also know that sometimes women really are crazy. It also felt repetitive. It was the same type of woman in a toxic, semi-abusive relationship as well as a toxic best friend. The only difference in this book is that Joe’s new obsession has a daughter.
The whole premise of the third book is that Joe is trying to be “good” while still continuing to do the same things. I was greatly disappointed in that because it also meant that Joe made the same mistakes. If he had gone to jail, then I fully expected him to think better. At least, act stealthier and don’t do something stupid that might get you caught AGAIN! Instead, it was the more of a regression to Joe from book one.
I started to lose hope at the beginning. The reader is introduced to Joe after he gets out of jail, but I was really hoping to go through the trial with Joe and Love, as well as Joe’s introduction to his new son. There was so much potential growth that Joe could have undergone. That is not to say that he could have stayed with Love, because everyone knows she was a nut job, but Joe and his son could have evolved.
What the? What was that ending? There was too much going on at the end, that I just couldn’t follow. I honestly felt like it was packed with too much information, almost as if the author really wanted these events but also really wanted to end the series. It was too much, too fast. There are exciting moments, but the unfortunate realization is that those events may have still happened regardless of whether Joe was there or not.
Overall I rate this novel 2 out of 5 stars. Supposedly there is another book in the works, but this might be a series that I can do without.
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